Best in The Verse
by I R Owen
Summary: Story set between the series and the movie, still a WIP. First time writing. Chapters are a tad short, some may be longer than others. All characters are owned by Joss, im just borrowing them :)
1. Chapter 1

Bullets whipped over the top of the trenches, bombs exploded all over no man's land leaving huge scaring craters in the landscape, and yet he felt sleep approaching. The screams of dying men filled the air, shouts of "Medic!" or calls for ammunition could be heard in between the constant barrage of ordinance and small arms fire. But all of this was background noise to him now, like the ticking of a watch or leaves in the wind. How long had it been since he slept? 3 maybe 4 days, and then only an hour or two. Fatigue was a big problem. As if to nail his point home he was quite roughly shaken awake.

"Sarge...Sargent Reynolds!"

"Private Simpson, this had better be gorram worth disturbin me, or it won't be no alliance bullets killin ya you need worry about." Muttered Malcolm Reynolds unsure of how sincere that threat really was.

"Sorry to be waking you sarge, but we're awful low on ammo and the men are tired, we won't stand a chance in hell if the alliance make their move".

Sgt Reynolds begrudgingly got to his feet, and put a hand on the young private's shoulder.

"Never made it to sleep Private, you wasn't wakin me. We gotta move ourselves back to the ridge up there, we must hold there for reinforcements. I want you to set up 5 details of men to provide cover while we move back. And find me-"THWANG!

Malcolm dropped to the floor covering the back of his neck with his hands. That bullet cannot have missed by far, sounded like it had hit one of the metal sheets on the side of the trench wall.

"Let's stay crouched from now on, don't you think Private?"

Malcolm heard nothing but some faint coughing, like water going down the wrong way.

"MEDIC! WE NEED A MEDIC NOW! C'mon Private you stay with me now. MEDIC!"

Without even noticing his own actions, Mal was now clutching the Private's neck trying to apply pressure to his wounds. The bullet had passed straight through. That is the shot Mal had heard, his hands were now soaked with blood. As Zoe arrived at his side Private Simpson choked spewing more over himself, spattering Malcolm's coat and face.

"S-sarge?"

"I'm here private, and Zoe, she has medicine, you're gonna be all fixed up in no time, you just stay with me Private, that's an order"

"Sarge…"

Simpson's voice trailed off, he exhaled for the last time, his hands falling limply by his side.

Captain Reynolds woke quickly, a sweat on his brow in his bunk on-board Serenity, the bullets and bombs of his nightmare, replaced with the noises of his beloved boat. _Can a memory be a nightmare?_ He thought pulling himself out of bed, dabbing his forehead on his sheets. _Surely nightmares are just bad make believe stuff?_ he reasoned climbing the ladder, and following the corridor to the kitchen. Coffee was required, lots of it.

Reaching the kitchen Mal found the young Dr Tam sat with a mug of rather lukewarm looking coffee in one hand, and some rather complicated medical notes and information scattered about the table. His head resting gently on the surface if the table his mouth slightly open, with a gentle snore filling the air. A smile crept to Mal's face, the young doctor had been particularly focused on his sister lately. Little River had one of her turns before dinner two nights before, and had thrown a tin across the room nearly knocking the shepherd unconscious. Pouring his own cup of coffee, Mal sat and cleaned his gun, repeating the process just to make sure and returned to his bunk.


	2. Chapter 2

Simon woke slowly, he felt lethargic and groggy, like he had drank too much of that awful stuff on Canton, whatever Jayne had called "Mudder's milk". But Simon had no time to drink, in fact he could not forgive himself for falling asleep, River was getting worse, he had to find something and soon. How long had he been asleep? Simon rubbed his eyes and sipped his now room temperature coffee, it was horrible, but caffeine is caffeine, and he had to stay awake. It was at this point Kaylee strolled in to the room, immediately Simon felt more alert and much happier. Kaylee always made him smile, she just lit up a room with that grin of hers.

"Morning Doctor!"

"Good morning, sleep well?

"Like a baby, what's for breakfast?"

"That's an awfully good question." Simon chuckled, "River has taken all the labels of the tins again, but I think the one with the dent in it is beans."

"I think that tin was for the shepherd aint it?" Kaylee giggled, although River's antics could be amusing at times, she was concerned that they were becoming more frequent and more severe.

"Oh I think I'll do well to avoid that tin." Chimed Shepherd Book, trying to keep the positive atmosphere of the morning alive. Lately there hadn't been much in the way of work for the ship, and some good morale would do the world of good.

After the rest of the crew had milled their way inside, The Shepherd and Wash made a small breakfast for everyone. The crew got lucky with their breakfast, with nothing to outlandish coming out of the tins picked at random from the pile of unlabelled tins in the cupboard. After breakfast Wash scuttled off to the cockpit to check their position, with everyone filing out to go about their regular days. Captain Reynolds soon announced that they would be arriving at Eavesdown docks on Persephone in around an hour, where they would look for work and passengers, and calling Jayne to the cargo bay. Simon wandered back to the infirmary to double check his supplies, suspecting this would be his last chance to stock up for a while.


	3. Chapter 3

Jayne finished off his final set, and dropped the dumbbells to the floor. Mal was coming down the steps and obviously had something important to talk about. Jayne stood and walked over to the foot of the stairs, looking up at the captain.

"What is it Captain? We got a Job?"

"Badger." Mal said, a slight worry in his voice. "Says he's got an opportunity for us to move a shipment for a client of his"

"Okay, sounds like an easy job, what's the problem?" said Jayne, an easy job sounded too good to be true at the moment.

"Well he won't say, who we are takin this to, or what it is we're delviverin."

"Yea but we done shady jobs like this before, aint nothing new there Mal."

"Yea I know, and this will pay us real well, and I mean real gorram well. I got a nervousness about this." Mal said softly, his anxiety clear in his voice. "Badger wants us to meet to pick up the cargo, and discuss how this job goes down, I want you ready in half hour."

"We got this Captain, I'm sure of it, and don't you worry about Badger." Jayne said, tapping his hip, drawing the captain's gaze to the pistol hanging from it. With Jayne you could bet it wasn't the only firearm nearby, and there was probably a knife in his boots.

"Let's hope it don't come to that." Said Mal walking back up the stairs and passed Inara who was walking back to her shuttle. The two exchanged a polite nod, but nothing more. Jayne wondered how much she had heard. Not that it mattered a great deal, it's just that usually when jobs got dangerous Inara liked to moan about it, and that started a row with the captain which would just give Jayne a headache.

Grabbing his towel off the floor Jayne headed back to his bunk to sharpen his knife and pick out a bigger gun, he knew he was never looked upon as bright, but even he knew not to trust Badger. He reached for a sawn off shotgun he had picked up on their last job. _Time to see what you can do_ , _if it comes it._ Thought Jayne, as if he had a telepathic connection to his guns.


	4. Chapter 4

Shepherd Book was knelt by his bunk, quietly praying to himself.

" _Dear Lord, Watch over these people today. I know that none of them are the most godly of souls, but these are good people. Kaylee is a bright and wonderful young woman who keeps the moral of this ship and its crew high and sees the best in people. I thank you lord for her and for Simon, that man is the best doctor I have ever known, and so kind. He cares for all at great sacrifice to himself constantly looking to help anyone he can, especially River."_

Taking a sip of water, the shepherd could hear River skipping down the halls of Serenity's passenger quarters, humming a melody he could not quite make out. The shepherd quickly returned to his prayers.

" _Lord, I know your ways are mysterious, and it is not always for us to understand. But I question why you would create a girl such as River, so intelligent and graceful, so full of life. And then submit her to what she had to endure, and then to make her a burden to her brother. And Jayne where do I start with Jayne? He is a troubled soul lord, but there is kindness there, and love too, and a strength and passion for fighting in him that is rarely seen. Zoe is another success of yours, she is smart and brave and fiercely loyal. She is the backbone of this crew and a real asset to this ship. And Wash lord, Wash is the very finest pilot in this verse, a loving husband and quite the comic character, he knows just what to say when needed to keep our spirits high. I thank you also for Inara and Captain Reynolds, though I admit they too have their flaws. Inara is a wonderful girl, and though her profession is regrettable, I thank you for her wit and her charm, and her ability to reprimand our goof captain when necessary. And Captain Reynolds, Lord I pray for him. He is a good man, though he is stubborn and he has sinned, there is a purity in him that I am yet to understand. This verse is a hard place to live, and these people do whatever they have to do to survive. And so I pray, that you give Simon the strength to care for his sister, and that he and Kaylee may find a peace together and live happy. I pray that Jayne may find a path that may lead him from sin, and that he comes to know and love more than money and guns. Lord I pray that you bless Wash and Zoe with a child, and allow them the happiest of marriges. I ask that you give Mal and Inara their chance at happiness together and keep them and the others safe. And lastly I ask that you continue to guide me as you have and that above all you allow us all our Serenity."_

Getting to his feet, Derrial blew out the candles in his quarters and let down his hair, turning on the main light he looked at himself in the mirror. A smile came to his face as he recalled young River's terror at the sight of his unleashed hair, chuckling to himself he rinsed his hands and washed his face, before drying off and tying his hair back. He decided he would go down to the cargo bay and lift some weights.

Walking through the corridors of Serenity it occurred to the shepherd that he had really begun to think of this ship as a home away from home. This troubled him, he liked this ship, and all of its crew, loved them even, like a very dysfunctional family. But he had done things with this crew, things that he would not have done had he stayed with his abbey, or he suspected, had he taken a different ship. _I think perhaps my time here must come to an end soon. For a time at least, perhaps I should ask to be dropped at Haven, help the people there._ He entered the cargo bay and climbed down the stairs, he decided to think for a time and talk to the captain when he had made his choice.


	5. Chapter 5

Inara watched as Mal, Zoe and Jayne climbed aboard the mule and prepared themselves for their meeting. She suspected that they would be going to see Badger. Inara was worried about Mal more often than not, she would deny to everyone that she was attracted to him, but she would not deny it to herself. From her years of training she could tell that he too felt the same way about her. But the two of them would fight and argue, in a futile attempt to cover their feelings. She loved her work, she was a people person, she felt that what she did had real purpose and she was grateful for this. She did however hope, that one day they could admit their feelings for one another and perhaps do something about it.

Kaylee had approached her that morning to ask if she had wanted to come and look at the ships in the dock, to watch the people going about their days and make up stories about their lives and what business they had. Inara loved Kaylee dearly, like a sister, but she had to turn her down on this occasion. A client had approached her with a proposition and she had decided that he was an acceptable candidate, he was a respected businessman and seemed very kind and so she would depart on her shuttle and go and meet him for their rendezvous. But first she wanted to see the others off, when it came to Badger she was more worried than usual, even for Jayne.

She descended the staircase and headed towards the mule, ignoring Jayne's usual lustful glare.

"Mal, I will be back this evening, no later than 7. Will that fit around your schedule?" She looked up at the captain attempting to seem regal, but inside feeling very complicated and nervous, like a school girl with a crush. She knew it to be infantile, but she could not help her feelings, only attempt to disguise them.

"Should be fine, s'pect this meetin' shouldn't be too complex, but we have some supplies to pick up and Kaylee has some repairs to finish." He said loud enough for the young engineer to hear, a not so subtle hint. "We won't be leavin' without you, go do your whorin'."

Inara was always hurt when Mal used that word, she knew that it was his defence mechanism, a childish way of hiding his feelings. But nevertheless it hurt.

Before she could retort Mal had started the mule and they left, out into the busy docks. Even though she wasn't the religious type she thought a silent prayer to keep them safe before heading to her shuttle.

As she made her final preparations, she could only think of Mal, whenever she did, she never knew quite what she felt, Anger? Guilt? Sadness? Yes she felt those but more often than not there was something else, something bigger, deeper. Inara knew what it was to love, but not like this, this was different this was special.

After a short goodbye to Wash via the comms she took off in her little shuttle and set her heading, as she flew, she could see the docks below her, a bustling thoroughfare of people milling about, wheeling and dealing, buying and selling. She could see Kaylee sat down on her chair her parasol cocked over her shoulders, hoping to attract a couple of passengers, or to secure some nice easy cargo to haul. As she flew higher the people became as small as ants and she lost sight of Kaylee and even Serenity itself, she turned instead to her console and focused on the task at hand, another day another client.


End file.
